Over the years, tennis racquets have been designed to hit the ball harder without sacrificing control of the ball when hit. Tennis racquets have been designed with a thicker head to make the racquet stiffer. It is believed that a stiffer racquet enables a player to hit the ball harder and faster. Such a design is shown in EPC 0477533. The tennis racquet has a thick head to reduce the deflection of the head when hitting the ball. It is believed that by reducing the deflection of the head, the power and accuracy imparted on the ball by a player is increased. The increased thickness of the head also reduces the twisting action of the head during play thus increasing the accuracy of play. The tennis racquet disclosed in the EPC patent incorporates a head configuration which increases the stiffness of the head and which resists torsional deformation during play.
Tennis racquets have also been designed to reduce vibration during play since such vibration adversely affects control of the ball during play. Many different strategies have been used to reduce vibration. These strategies have included the incorporation of vibration dampeners in the head of the racquet and/or on the string of the racquet. Another strategy includes the design of a racquet head which helps to suppress the vibration of the head. One such design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,380. In such design, the cross-sectional height of the shaft is selected to be greater than the parallel thickness of the frame and the handle and the resonance frequency of to achieve such a resonance frequency, the head of the racquet is designed to be thicker than the handle of the racquet.
Tennis racquet head designs which have imparted stiffness and/or reduced vibration to the head during play have required the head thickness to be substantially increased. The increased head thickness, however, results in increased resistance during play which results in reduces swing speed and less racquet control especially during rapid racquet movement such as during volleying. In addition, the increased head size shifts the center of gravity of the racquet toward the top of the racquet. This shift in the center of gravity results in less racquet control.
In view of the state of the art for tennis racquets, there is a need for a racquet which has an improved aerodynamic profile and improved weight distribution to provide increased racquet control and power.